Does anyone want me to have a real chance to start over? Adele asked herself. This conversation sounded like Justine was pulling out of their deal.
“I’ll think about this, but Scott has responsibilities, too,” she pointed out.
“He’s been out of the full-time workforce for so long...” Justine said.
“Just the same, we all have to live up to our adult commitments and responsibilities. And you’ve had a highfalutin job for a long time. You’ve made a lot of money. You can recover. I haven’t even begun.”
“I need your help, Addie,” Justine said. “You need to come up with a plan, something we can put in motion. Make plans for your next step, put a little energy into this old house, make suggestions of what we should do with it, everything. Let’s figure out what to do before I find myself short and unable to help. I’m sorry, but we have to move forward.”
TWO
Justine’s visit and her ominous predictions created a pretty dark day for Adele. Her head ached from her brow being furrowed all day. She hadn’t even begun to figure out what she wanted to do next before Justine threw a wrench into everything. Addie was lost in deep thought; she took a couple of hours with a calculator, looking over the numbers. They were pretty bleak. It had been a consideration to get a home equity loan to improve the property before selling it, but if Justine couldn’t swing it, how was Addie supposed to? She was pretty sure one had to have a job before being approved for a loan.
Addie had no money, no income, just what Justine provided. There was a little saved from the insurance, but without money from Justine, she was going to run out soon. How could her sister do this to her now? While Addie cared for their mother, Justine and her family had been to France and Italy and Scotland, not to mention many long weekend trips here and there. They had all the sports equipment under the sun and lived in a very nice house. And now, after Adele had put in eight years, Justine was warning her that she might pull the rug out from under her? How could she?
She tried to remember that Justine hadn’t had it as easy as it all looked. Law school was a struggle for her, though in the end she graduated with honors. Then she worked long hours while Scott started to work shorter and shorter weeks. When Justine wanted a baby and didn’t conceive, she saw infertility specialists and was thirty-five before being blessed with the birth of her daughter Amber. Then, like so many infertile women, she ignored birth control after Amber was born, thinking she just couldn’t get pregnant. Olivia came eleven months after Amber.
Adele couldn’t really remember all the details of Justine and Scott’s early years together, but by the time her nieces were born when she was in high school, it was obvious that Scott made sure the girls got what they needed but he didn’t go much further. Justine stopped at the store for groceries on her way home from work, sometimes at ten at night. She spent her days off doing laundry, and if she couldn’t stay up until midnight working on briefs, she’d get up at four in the morning to work. And then Scott would criticize her for not working out and complain about the toll her long hours took on the family. But he somehow justified an expensive country club membership. Scott did most of the cooking, but it wasn’t much of an effort. He didn’t like labor-intensive meals after a rugged day of playing golf. Adele witnessed a lot of those squabbles because she was a frequent babysitter when her nieces were little.
But none of that was Adele’s fault! Now she feared Justine would go back on her promises and take advantage of her again.
She thought about canceling the movie date with Jake because she knew she wouldn’t be good company, but she didn’t have the heart after he’d been so sweet to offer. So she got dressed and was ready when he picked her up. “What are we going to see?” she asked when she got in the car.
“Anything you want. There are plenty of sexy leading men for you to choose from,” he said. Then he grinned.
“Anything is fine.”
So they chose the latest hit movie, bought popcorn and drinks, and she stared at the screen blankly. He asked her three times what was wrong, and three times she said she just had things on her mind. The movie was over before she’d really let herself enjoy it. Jake grabbed her hand and said, “Come on.” He pulled her up and out of their row, out of the theater into the dimly lit hall that led to the lobby. “We’re going to Maggio’s. We’ll get a dark booth in the back and talk. Whatever it is, it’s better to get it out.”